It’s the summer of Lego Librarians! When I created my own Lego Librarian personalities, I didn’t quite imagine the wave it would create. People love Lego blocks. People love librarians. When you combine the two, you get an irresistible cultural mash-up.

After I acquired the official Lego librarian (I got it for cheap on eBay, rather than guessing among the unmarked packages at the Lego store), I decided that the Lego librarian needed a library!

Now I had a few of my own Lego pieces, but I had to ask for donations from co-workers. I also eBayed a few cheap building blocks…and voilà. I started building the Lego library. Just like the real library, there’s something for everyone: books, periodicals, technology, events. All walks of life are represented: young and old, well to do and not-so-much, people making a transition, and people on the edges of society. Here’s the local public library in Lego form…hope you enjoy it!

The Lego Library

Busy day

Periodicals

Gettin’ my study on!

Looking for a good book.

Your local public library: something for everyone.

Always popular…never an empty seat!

Information to the masses!

Computer center

Diverse clientele

“Why yes, people do tell me I look like Amy Adams as Lois Lane. Why do you ask?”

“Sir, you need to wake up!” Drunk patrol.

The children’s librarian rockin’ a chicken suit for storytime.

Circulation & Reference: “There are 30 holds for Fifty Shades of Grey. Shall I add your name to the list?”

“I’m sorry, but I don’t think dating a fellow librarian is a good idea. We might accidentally mix up our cardigans.”

Yikes…who would have thought that Lego librarians could be so popular? The original blog post has had nearly 16,000 views since it was posted on the evening of July 24.

The librarian/nerd in me finds the blog post’s movement through the “interwebs” fascinating. It’s been referenced on Flavorwire, Neatorama, Nerd Approved, and My Modern Met among others. It shows how librarians ARE an integral pop culture phenomenon: stereotypes and all.

One More Lego Librarian

Although I featured over 20+ Lego librarians, the most common request I received was: Where’s the children’s librarian? So, here it is:

“Only a children’s librarian would don a chicken suit for story time! That’s why the kiddies love me. But once summer reading is done, I’m pawning the chicken suit for beer & wine money.”

I’ve also added it to the original post. So, I’m officially done now with my various Lego librarian personalities. But you can make your own by hunting around on eBay. You’ll be hooked–I guarantee!

What’s Next?

There will be one final Lego blog post within the next couple of weeks when I unveil my “Lego Library.” Then I will happily retire from Lego librarians all together as I’ve had my fill. Thanks for your comments…this crazy blog post idea has been a truly fun experience.

So, how do we know when librarians have hit the big time? Lego has introduced a Lego Librarian – part of its minifigures series line. This line of minifigures is an eclectic group. Series #10, which the librarian belongs to, also includes a warrior woman, sad clown, and a paintball player among others. In fact, the librarian is the only viable career option in the set! How cool is that?

There are 150+ minifigures, only about 10 require a college degree, so the librarian is in rare company!

Here’s the Lego Librarian [screen capture from the Lego website]:

The official Lego Librarian, part of Minifigures Series 10.

OK, so it plays into several librarian stereotypes…but I would expect nothing less. The Lego character must be easily identifiable to the public: “Oh yeah, THAT is a librarian!” So, what do we have?…

Female? Check.

Glasses? Check.

Cardigan? Check.

Sensible hair? Check.

Book? Check.

Coffee cup that reads “Shhh!” Check.

Oranges and Peaches

The creators went to some lengths to add a bit of fun. There’s even an inside joke in regards to the “Oranges and Peaches” book. It’s a reference to the 1995 movie Party Girl starring Parker Posey as a library clerk. In the scene below, a patron asks for Darwin’s Origin of Species. The Parker character mistakes it for “Oranges and Peaches”:

A Biographical Story

The Lego Librarian comes with a brief bio. Again, it plays into some trite stereotypes, but it’s fun:

Books are just about the Librarian’s most favorite thing in the entire world. Reading them can take you on exciting adventures in far-off lands, introduce you to new friends and cultures, and let you discover poetry, classic literature, science fiction and much more. If only everybody loved to read as much as she does, the world would be a better place…and quieter, too! The Librarian feels that it’s extremely important to treat a book with the proper respect. You should always use a bookmark instead of folding down the corner of the page. Take good care of the dust jacket, and don’t scribble in the margins. And above all else, never – ever – return it to the library late!

It’s no surprise that the Lego Librarian is female. It should be. We’re a female-dominated profession. It makes sense. But I wanted to have some fun, so I decided to to see if I could make the librarian version of me – Mr. Library Dude. It was not hard.

I grabbed the Lego computer programmer minifigure. He’s wearing a sweater vest and glasses. Doesn’t that scream male librarian? I actually think I have that EXACT sweater vest! I added an iPhone (those who know me never see me without mine) and I invented the Mr. Library Dude Lego Librarian:

This is Mr. Library Dude.

Lego Librarians on Parade

So besides the official Lego Librarian version and my knock-off, how might we portray other librarians in Lego form? Or what other ways are we perceived by peers or the public? I decided to take a stab at it and had a bit of fun. Maybe you even know a few of these. So here’s my satirical take. What would you add?

Note: Naturally, the LEGO images below are popular with children. Please be forewarned: there is a bit of cursing below.

Update: By popular request, I have added a children’s librarian. Look for the chicken suit!

The official Lego librarian – comes with a “Shhh!” cup and a book: “Oranges and Peaches.”

“Why do all the homeless guys hit on me?”

“Adequately caffeinated and ready for the Reference Desk!”

“I’m what some people call a ‘fucking bunhead’ – but I wear it as a badge of honor.”

It’s easy to play: just scroll through the postings on the ALA JobList site. Every time you see one these items below: a buzzword, a litany of preferred advanced qualifications, or one of those bullet points that just makes you think “WTF!” – take a drink!

If you get five in a row, shout out “Bingo!” You’ll be sloshed in no time! (…but as those ads say, my friends–please drink responsibly).

First off, I enjoy my job as a librarian. That hasn’t changed in the 10 years that I’ve been a librarian. So, please excuse some of my snarkiness below. It’s the Friday before Spring Break (but we all know that most librarians don’t get a Spring Break) and I needed a little fun! Here’s a list of 10 things they didn’t tell you about being a librarian. These have all happened to me, or at a library I have worked at:

Asking a patron to stop licking the computer monitor when viewing images of French figure skater Surya Bonaly.

You should probably memorize all of the books by their color because that’s what patrons will ask for. “Do you have that green book? You know…the big one!”

How to get the following animals OUT of the library: bats, snakes, robins, frogs, and yes–a roadrunner.

How to ID a peeping tom in the book stacks. And making him leave when the security officer doesn’t do his/her job.

That someone ALWAYS wants to photocopy something the minute before closing.

When a patron is asking for books on “poultry,” he may actually mean “poetry.”

That senior citizens sometimes just call the library because they’re lonely. This makes me sad.

You need to de-lice the library headphones.

The Robert Mapplethorpe books always ends up in the men’s restroom and you will sometimes need plastic gloves to retrieve them.

Are you allowed to keep the alcohol you find in the library? Kidding! Seriously, I’ve found everything from beer cans to Jack Daniels, and even vermouth! But I suspected the vermouth to be from a library co-worker (what college kid drinks vermouth?).